Freezer Bag Website Updates:

“works fine..probably the operator ;)”

“Too many moving parts?”

“Hmmm I've been on the site before but can't access it now. i get this message:

The Web site you are looking for is unavailable due to its identification configuration settings.

Technical Information (for support personnel)

Background:
This error indicates that the gateway could not find an authoritative DNS server for the Web site you are trying to access.

Is this a firewall issue or something?”

“Yep, something like that.
I get similar stuff from time to time here at work. Usually for me it's a proxy issue.”

“didn't sarbar switch to a different server ? ie http://freezerbagcooking.com/”

“Yes, I did change the name, but it is with the same server :-) I just got a domain. The old address "usually" works, but not always.”

“My wife and I sometimes make things to give away as Christmas gifts. This year I decided to make up some Freezer Bag meals from Sarbar's cookbook and give them to people along with a cozy. I made cozys from closed cell foam pipe insulation and duct tape. One section of pipe insulation was exactly enough to make 4 cozys.

I used six recipes and mixed and matched three or four for each person based on what I thought they would like. The recipes I used were:

Hearty Clam Chowder
Sushi Bowl
Curried Thai Rice
Veggie Brown Rice
Salmon Rice
Noodle Soup

Surprising I also had trouble finding mixed veggies at the local stores. So I ended up finding some veggie soup on sale and using it. I didn't add bouillion if in that case since it was included in the soup mix.

Also, where would one normally find Coconut Cream Powder?

I am anxious to see how people like them. Half of the recipients are backpackers.

For the Salmon Rice, I couldn't find Knorr Cream of Brocolli Soup so I substituted Knorr Cream of Spinach. I really anxious to get a report on that one!

BTW, inside each freezer bag I included a ziplock bag that had a spoon, napkin, teabag and condiments.

This is fun!”

“phil, i still haven't received mine yet.
i knew my mailman was incompetent- but i never thought he was a thief!
i'm gonna sick my dog on him tomorrow.”

“who winnie?”

“The mixed veggies I like to use is the Just Tomatoes brand Just Veggies Snack.
4 oz tubs of dried carrots, corn, peas, bell peppers, and tomatoes.

I like the 'Hot' version best:
http://www.justtomatoes.com/html/product/vegghot1.html


http://www.justtomatoes.com/html/locations/CA-Sou_gif.html
last edited: 12/22/06 9:23:48 PM”

“don't be fooled ENS
she's a trained killer.”

“StoveStomper - Thanks! You have really been helping me out today!

The very first store I went to was on that list (Henry's in Yorba Linda). They said they didn't have anything. I am guessing they either didn't know they had it, or they don't carry it anymore. (The list is dated because the REI in San Dimas has been gone for years).”

“Coconut Cream Powder can be found online in thai food web sites. I haven't looked in local thai grocery stores but i am betting it would be there.”

“Jimmy - thanks. I suspect if I had time to go to the Ranch 99 Market I could have found much of my missing ingredients as well.”

“Phil, try the Oriental section in Ethnic Foods at your local market. I have found coconut cream powder here in Oregon and if we have it, you should be able to find it without any problem.”

“Old Timer!! Great to hear from you! I'll try that. Thanks!”

“Phil, If you have a Wild Oats in your area they will carry dehydrated mixed veggies. There bulk items dept is pretty good.”

“that web site is awesome. you need to get google ads up there and start making some cash. i bet you could pull in enough cash to pay for the web hosting or perhaps a shopping cart on go-daddy to sell your book. you DESERVE to be paid for this service. :)”

“Ewker - Not sure if there is a Wild Oats around. I think Henrys is owned by Wild Oats.”

“Phil -- That's a great holiday idea for bpers!”

“Phil, check out their website for a store. I know they are in Ca just not sure if the store is near you.
http://www.wildoats.com/u/find/”

“I like the 'Hot' version best:

I bet they would work well in a chicken tortilla soup.”

“Ewker - Thanks!! I was right. Henrys is owned by Wild Oats. I will look there again. The nearest Wild Oats is about 30 miles. There is also Whole Foods, which I suspect is similar.”

“Found coconut cream powder at an Asian market tonight! Cool!”

“Everyone seemed to like the "Freezer Bag Meal" Christmas gift idea. I made everyone promise to give me a report on their favorite meals.”

“that was a great idea Phil..have you checked out Henry's/Wild oats yet?”

“Ewker - Haven't been to Henry's again...very soon I am sure.”

“In reference to my dads post a few back for his Christmas gifts.

www.freezerbagcooking.com

Gear list: Freezer bag meal, freezer bag cozy, MSR XGK-EX multi fuel stove, Snow Peak 4 piece titanium cook set, Snow Peak titanium fork and spoon set. (Also shown are the three other meals to be tested.)


I had 4 to choose from: hearty clam chowder, noodle soup, sushi bowl, or salmon rice.


sushi bowl it is!


bag contents


priming the msr xgk-ex(I swear it has at least 5lbs of thrust when it gets going)


I think it was under a minute for 1.25cups to boil


Added the water to the bag


My dad made this nifty freezer bag cozy just for me! Notice the freezer bag sticking out of the top.


I love seaweed so it was very good, I would definitly eat it in the back country!
(normally I would eat it out of the bag, no cleanup, but for ease of photographing, I put it into the pot)

last edited: 2/21/07 11:11:16 PM”

“Love your photos! The sushi bowl is one my friend Catzia gave me, she is a vegan :-)”

“Unbelievable! My cozy looks identical to yours!!! I've made five so far and given four away. People liked the Sushi Bowl recipe.”

“Try the reflective duct insulation material, instead of the closed cell foam stuff. It's the same stuff Antigravity tries to rip you off with for ten bucks per cozy.

Out here, that stuff is 3 bucks a foot x 3 foot wide coming off the roll. That puts those cozys y'all made at about .25-.50 per cozy, verses the 10.00 cozy from Anti.”

“Antigravity tries to rip you off with for ten bucks per cozy. - Q

Bullshat. Antigravity Gear has to make a small profit. There stuff is priced very reasonably for folks that do not want to make their own.”

“Stovie needs more coffee.... 8o”

“Phils son,
Try ripped up Dulce in your trailmix! I love it with cashews and dried cherries. It's good stuff. My family calls it Nova Scotia candy.”

“Try the reflective duct insulation material, instead of the closed cell foam stuff. It's the same stuff Antigravity tries to rip you off with for ten bucks per cozy.

Out here, that stuff is 3 bucks a foot x 3 foot wide coming off the roll. That puts those cozys y'all made at about .25-.50 per cozy, verses the 10.00 cozy from Anti.”
laqtis
1:07:57 AM
2/22/07


I bought my cozy from Anti-gravity gear. I looked at buying the reflectix but decided I didn't need a whole roll of it at 20-25.00 per roll.
Plus I like supporting the cottage industries like anti-gravity gear, henry shires tarp tents, Brawny Tents which are now made by Anti-Gravity Gear. etc

Keeping with the thread I bought Sarbar's book thru Anti-Gravity Gear :)”

“I am starting a production on a UL cozy of my own, sewing them as I have time, around my day job. They are very UL, weighing in on average at 1 1/4 ounces. They are flexible, machine washable and both insulate and can carry cold food first day out.
Soon, I hope to have them up on my website! (Maybe in the next week.) I need to make another run of them first this weekend, so I have good stock!”

“Antigravity Gear is a great company and their cozy is very nice and well made. I agree that their profit margin is high but I have owned and run my own business before and there is a lot more built into the cost of the product than the raw materials and time. I love spending money at Antigravity Gear, Gossamer Gear, BPL, etc because it helps keep these shops open. That way I can still get the things I want when I want them like the GG Mariposa pack or the BPL spoon.. or the AGG cozy. Just the fact that Antigravity Gear recognizes that a cozy is a good idea and produces them for so many different pots (or custom pot sizes) is a sign that this company "gets it".
last edited: 2/22/07 10:04:43 AM”

“"Bullshat. "

Boy, sounds like a stockholder. Seems as though this is very similar to the response you gave me the last time (about 3=4 years ago, after I posted how to make them, then they came out a few months later with theirs) I talked about the fleecing of that company.

Those cozys are a ripoff. For a person who prides himself on begin able to make a .50 cent can stove, instead of "getting ripped off by the other stove makers", you sure do get testy when the same principle is apply to the things you support.


All --

I understand that people might want to support a fledgling company; that's all well and fine. But as a consumer, I don't really like being taken for a fool when a company tried to sell me an item that I can make for .50, for ten bucks.

Patronize them; it's your choice and money, I just choose otherwise. Over-paying for an item, just to support some fledgling company, just does not make sense to me. It's like having someone try to peddle those cheap pepsi can stoves for 10 bucks; it's almost insulting to the customer.
last edited: 2/22/07 2:38:43 PM”

“WOW...I am sorry but...dang I coulda swore we had a thread where the same people #&%!$ing about Anti Gravity were the ones demanding we not shop Walmart for the foriegn products and we be willing to pay higher prices to support AMERICAN COMPANIES....then again....

with libbies, "all people are equal, some are more equal than others"”

“You can make it for .50 but then you don't have to hire someone to make it for you, or pay part of that employees insurance. You don't have to hire someone to make out payroll for those employees. You don't have to pay the overhead for all the business expenses. You don't have to shell out 1000 of $ for the material to mass produce the product.(Productions runs are not cheap so quantity helps). You don't have to pay someone to engineer the product. If it doesn't work you just try again. You don't have to hire someone to market the product. You don't have to hire an accounting department to handle all the expenses and income. You don't have to build into the cost of the product insurance to cover the law suite when someone spills hot liquid from the cozy onto their lap. I could go on for pages but I think you get the idea. $10.00 is cheap.”

“"WOW...I am sorry but...dang I coulda swore we had a thread where the same people #&%!$ing about Anti Gravity were the ones demanding we not shop Walmart for the foriegn products and we be willing to pay higher prices to support AMERICAN COMPANIES....then again..."


Ah, you should prolly support the bold part of the quote. I said nothing of the sort. You should be more vigilant in the future while you're soaking off the taxpayer.


"You can make it for .50 but then you don't have to hire someone to make it for you".

Well, isn't that the point of me making it myself?

As far as the rest of the post -- I'm not in business. What you post is the diatribe of a small businessperson -- I know plenty of them and have heard it all before. Isn't that what they call the price of doing business? If it's such a hassle, go work for someone else. You make it sound like it's such a burden to produce a cheap item, that's it's justified to charge a high price.

Respectfully: Give me a break.


All --

It's real simple. This is Capitalism at it's best. If the market will bare this type of pricing (which it appears it does); I say Bully for Anti. They've been able to focus on an area where they can maximize their profit line.

It still doesn't take away from the claim that I think the product is a rip off.

We talk about gear all (well, most, or at least some) the time around here. Why should some small business like Anti be shielded from the same level of criticism than what some do for companies like REI, Columbia, etc, for their crappy stuff.

For the most part, all I've really seen are comments about how you guys don't mind overpaying for the item, or "lay off. they're a regular guy company".

What happened around here? Do we have some sort of coddle system, or taboo for certain items, or makers of gear?

Again. Give me a break.
last edited: 2/22/07 3:43:58 PM”

“laqtis has obviously never run a business.”

“I was trying to point out that $10 retail price of a product that cost .50 to make is not out of line. Many people do not understand all the things that go into bringing a product to market. It doesn't matter who sells it Wal-mart or a specialty store there are still built in cost to make a product that you don't have a lot of control over.”

“"“laqtis has obviously never run a business.”"

I've dabbled early on in my life and got out when very good personal relationships were at risk.

Besides that experience, I've been "almost family" as an employee in two past family businesses, 90% of the people I hang out with are either self-employed, or work for family run businesses. I've been in charge of department budgets, acted as a main purchaser for 3 different public school departments.

I don't know if that helps out with understand where I'm coming from, so FWIW.

"I was trying to point out that $10 retail price of a product that cost .50 to make is not out of line."

Look, how big is the operation? Pretty small, I'm guessing. So a lot of the duties and tasks you present could all be done by pretty much by a couple of people; hell, in China one 12 year old would be able to run that company and two others.

Y'all don't have to mind me. This has been my position ever since those things came out some 3 years ago; I ain't changin` as long as I see people paying 10 bucks for a .50 cozy.

Just doing my part as a hiker and a consumer of gear.”

“i've tried some of the ziplock recipes but no matter how I make them they are too chewy and they clog me up. Is it easier if I cut out the zipper part before eating them?”

“Is it .50? I have seen many times on this board many people make these out of the insulation material and are trying to sell what they didn't use. At Home Depot you can buy a 16x25' roll of insulation for $15, a roll of duct tape will cost you $1.77 you now have $16.77 invested. I figure it takes about 20" of insulation to make one, costing you $1.00 and probably .02 worth of tape. You now have a $1.02 cozy but you have $15.75 of left over material. What are you going to do with that to recoup your cost? You could sell it on e-bay but what percent do they keep for selling it? The way I look at it you have $16.77 in a cozy. $10 is still cheap.”

“Just bought the book! Tired of eating Enertria”

“Poor Q flip flops as much as some pols.


I have learned many people will not try to make gear. That's OK.
Small companies like AntiGravity make great products for those that do not wish to make their own. I understand pricing and labor costs.
Perhaps Q thinks AntiGravity needs to have a bunch of low paid Mexicans making their products?
They charge a fair price.
last edited: 2/22/07 5:27:38 PM”

““Poor Q flip flops as much as some pols.”

Now Stovey's making fun of the Polish? LOL!”